Daily Didactic
The morning started earlier for Theresa than Brian, who bound out of the bus for a much anticipated run down to Radium Valley and then back up the hill to Red Streak Campground. Apparently it worked because she seemed fatigued when she returned to the bus around 9:00. Having learned that the Radium Hot Springs Aquacort opens at 10:00, we packed up camp at a leisurely pace and headed out at a quarter to ten. Interestingly, we realized that we had stayed in the same campsite as in 2000. We wouldn't have recognized it without the picture from the old web site as after the "big fire of 2003" the park host said they cut down most of the trees in that section of the campground.

We spent a couple of hours lounging in the not nearly as sulphury Radium Hot Springs. Radium is far more civilized than Laird, kind of like a large swimming pool at bathtub temps. The scenery surrounding the pool is awesome and we just can't get enough of the place. After our dip we tried to get lunch at the strangely non-functional Radium Hot Springs Lodge across the road. There is a story here, but it's probably not worth the energy. We'll just suggest you try elsewhere. We did and ended up at the Horse Thief Pub and Saloon, or something to that effect, surrounded by a crowd of older golfers. After a satisfying lunch, we hit the road toward the border.

The road to the border winds through southern British Columbia and is scenic, but sadly pales in comparison to the road a few hundred miles north. We had an uneventful border stop and tooled on into the "Big Sky" country that is northern Montana. It's weird, but the sky really does seem bigger. Probably the power of suggestion. We made a hard decision and skipped one of our favorite old standby stops of Whitefish, because it was relatively early and Missoula placed us in a better spot to get to the Sawtooth Mountains in Idaho the follow day. We landed in the Missoula KOA mid evening, looking forward to showers, internet access, and electricity.

Morning in an unfamiliar familiar site at Red Streak		He just kept chattering at us
The Radium Aquacort		Piscine Chaude!
An awfully white Alaskan in an awfully warm pool		The view of the Alaskan
Happy T		Okay, it's just a gutter but it seems artsy
Undermining any kind of morning start to the drive		The notch in the road back to Radium
Do you suppose they tell you or is it a surprise?		You know, you really cannot stop her from driving the bus
With a little assistance, a CV boot		Now, there is a look for Brian
Brians hands down favorite shot, out the window looking left		Hoodoos out of Fairmont
Another favorite shot, the over the shoulder		Cows guarding the border
Our country welcomes us back		As does the oddly tobacco free Tobacco Valley
Big Sky, really		Sprinkling

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